Las Vegas and Clark County - unification

Since the mid 19th century USA has been experimenting with unifying cities and counties. Philadelphia City absorbed Philadelphia County in 1854, New York City absorbed 5 counties (counties=boroughs), and Nevada established Carson City as independent of any county. In recent decades several cities have merged with the unincorporated areas of their county.

Since 1950 unincorporated jurisdictions have been forming in Clark County to prevent being taken over by the city. Winchester, Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise, South Summerlin, Whitney, Sunrise Manor, etc. In fact the mayor of Las Vegas governs a jurisdiction that only includes maybe $1 in $8 in gaming revenue for the county. Only two casinos have been built within the city limits of Las Vegas in the last 20 years (Suncoast and Rampart Casino in Summerlin).

The incorporated cities are Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Mesquite.

Do you think that Clark County should merge with the city of Las Vegas? The icorporated cities would remain seperate. The merger would form a city of over 1 million people that would be one of the top 10 cities in the USA.

As a non US Citizen, the question I have to ask is "Would it make any difference?"

What would be the various benefits or downfalls of any such potential merger. As I dont really understand it I would love to know more.

Ofcourse not.
The whole idea of Bugsy Siegal going out to the middle of nowhere to build a casino was to escape the city limits. Why would the people of Hendertucky want to live in the same place as their poorer relatives in downtown Las Vegas?

Usually the only way it happens is if a majority of people in each jurisdiction votes to allow it. There has to be something beneficial for all parties for it to happen. If there is a municipality that sees there will be no gain (their higher taxes just going to subsidize a poorer area) then it usually will fail. In NJ, Princeton Township and Princeton Borough have a vote to merge every couple of years, but the Township votes it down because they don't want to pay for services for the less affluent, more college-type area in the Borough. If this interests you, you should also check out the strange "independent cities" structure in Virginia.

Quote: Croupier

As a non US Citizen, the question I have to ask is "Would it make any difference?"

I think a more appropriate question is, "Unless I live in the Vegas area, why would I care?"

It's not a pressing issue, but it brings about inefficiencies. A lot of people live in poor cities with limited geographic area, while the wealthy properties are outside of the limits. If city and county merged then the resultant city would be about the same size as Phoenix, instead of Washington DC.

Mayor Goodman doesn't really represent the casinos.

Good question. For those who don't know, the casinos on the Strip are actually not in Las Vegas. Here is a map showing the boundaries. I think few locals (including me) know, or care about, the structure of government in the unincorporated cities. I'm not saying it isn't an important issue, but often the most important issues are the most boring to read about. As was already said, usually such mergers are bad for the affluent parts of town, and good for the poor parts. For that reason, I suppose would support the merger, because I live within the boundaries of Las Vegas.

Quote: Wizard

Good question. For those who don't know, the casinos on the Strip are actually not in Las Vegas.

The Stratosphere IS in the city. Right on the edge. But that's a reason visitors might support it - so we don't have to hear that our trip to Vegas didn't include Vegas!


The more I think about it, the more interesting this topic gets.

Without knowing anything about the issues, except what's been presented in this thread, I'd say it might be good for residents of the entire county, for one simple reason. Casino taxes. I gotta think that if there was a merger, casino taxes would be the first thing on the agenda.

I'm sure the casinos would be against the merger, and are lobbying against it, but if it came to a vote of the residents, the casinos have no say - except for the individual votes of the casino execs that live in the county. And then their vote is just as powerful as the average Joe's vote.



On a somewhat unrelated note, Walt Disney World exists in cities that are completely owned and run by the Disney company. Walt's original concept for EPCOT was to include 20,000 apartments, condos and homes. The 'C' stands for community. That idea was killed because the company didn't want to turn control over to the residents by giving them voter rigths.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

The Stratosphere IS in the city. Right on the edge. But that's a reason visitors might support it - so we don't have to hear that our trip to Vegas didn't include Vegas!

[..]

On a somewhat unrelated note, Walt Disney World exists in cities that are completely owned and run by the Disney company. Walt's original concept for EPCOT was to include 20,000 apartments, condos and homes. The 'C' stands for community. That idea was killed because the company didn't want to turn control over to the residents by giving them voter rigths.

Downtown is all inside Vegas, so just hop on the Deuce and get there. No excuses.

Of course Downtown and the Strip don't just feel like different cities, but like different worlds altogether. If you visit both places the same day, which is easy, you feel a bit like visiting parallel universes ;)

As to EPCOT, the full name is "Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow." It was one of Walt Disney's wilder ideas. Considering the man's record, that says a lot. I think mostly the idea fell apart because construction on EPCOT started long after Disney's death.

BTW EPCOT isn't what it used to be, either. But that's a whole different topic.

Vegas sometimes feels like an open theme park for adults already. There are even rides, shows and lots of places to eat (the average buffet is both an attraction and a place to eat). All that's missing is a fireworks show or a parade in the evening. So how about selling the whole Strip to one company and let them run it like an amusement park with casinos?

Serious question: do strip casinos pay property taxes, and who do they pay them to?

Quote: Nareed

As to EPCOT, the full name is "Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow." It was one of Walt Disney's wilder ideas. Considering the man's record, that says a lot. I think mostly the idea fell apart because construction on EPCOT started long after Disney's death.

BTW EPCOT isn't what it used to be, either. But that's a whole different topic.

Serious question: do strip casinos pay property taxes, and who do they pay them to?

I think besides the HOA thing bringing down EPCOT was that Walt's idea was that the people in the condos were to have had very strict codes to live by. Never heard what they were, but imaging your HOA then imagine it even more controlling than it is by a factor fo 10. Add that to how remote you would be living, Disnet trffic, and those condos look more like a way to get you to be the attraction at a zoo. Personally I think it would have gotten old after a few weeks and EPCOT was always my favorite park there.

BTW: The problem is EPCOT was about "tomorrow" but being built in 1982, it IS tomorrow.